Three-Ring Terror Read online

  “What is it?” Joe asked.

  “What’s wrong?” Frank said.

  “That was the head trustee for Circus U.,” Turner said dully.

  “And?” Frank asked.

  Turner swallowed before going on. “He said that Georgianne Unger just called him to tell him about the accidents. He said that unless I find out who is behind the incidents within one week, I’ll be removed as dean of Circus U.”

  7 A Coded Connection

  * * *

  “What?” Joe asked Turner. “You mean they’ll fire you?”

  “That’s exactly what I mean,” Turner said. He rounded his desk and started pacing back and forth. “Oh, this is terrible, just terrible.”

  Joe watched as Frank stepped over to Turner and put his hand on the dean’s arm. “Calm down,” the older Hardy urged. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

  “Frank’s right, Dean Turner,” Joe put in. “We’ve got a week. That’s plenty of time.”

  Turner sighed deeply. “Oh, I hope so,” he said. “Oh, no,” he added, looking at his watch. “I have an appointment with an important donor in fifteen minutes. Would you mind—”

  “No problem,” Joe said. “There’s just one more question. What do you know about a guy with the Montero Brothers Circus by the name of Ralph Rosen?”

  Dean Turner looked puzzled. “Ralph Rosen? I personally kicked him out of this school about a year ago.”

  “You mean Rosen went to Circus U.?” Joe asked.

  “He did,” Turner said. “Until he got expelled. In fact, I’m stunned to hear that he’s working for the Montero Brothers Circus. Jim Jacobs didn’t tell me he’d hired him. I’ll have to speak to him about that. With his record, Rosen shouldn’t even be clowning for a third-rate outfit, let alone a world-class circus like the Montero.” Turner shook his head a few times, as if trying to clear his thoughts. “How did you find out that Rosen was working for the circus?”

  “It’s a long story,” Joe said. He took a deep breath and quickly explained to Dean Turner that Rosen had dropped one of his juggler’s balls in Chet’s tote bag and then disappeared. “So we went looking for him,” he went on. “But the guy’s taken off.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Turner said. “About Rosen taking off, that is. He used to miss classes all the time. When he did come he would disrupt the entire class. He was a terrific juggler, but he had a terrible attitude. He thought he was better than everyone, and he wouldn’t take direction. Costello wanted me to give him a break. He said Rosen had a lot of talent and just needed the proper guidance, but in the end he was forced to agree with my decision to dismiss him. Circus U. was not the place for someone like Ralph Rosen.”

  “That guy we talked to—what was his name?” Frank asked his brother.

  “Jim Jacobs,” Joe replied, “the head clown.”

  “Right,” Frank said. “Jim Jacobs admitted Rosen had a bad reputation, but he said he felt sorry for him. Rosen was juggling on the street for money, apparently.”

  Turner shrugged. “I’m not surprised. With his attitude, it’s unlikely any circus would hire him. Although you don’t need a degree from Circus U. to be qualified to work in circuses,” he added.

  “Is there any way we can find out more about Ralph Rosen?” Frank asked.

  “You should ask Bo,” Turner replied. “He would have a record of his application. And Jacobs will know where he’s staying in Bayport. I’m still not sure why you want to find him, though. What was so important about that ball he dropped in your friend’s bag?”

  Joe pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and showed Turner the coded message. “This was inside the ball,” he explained, handing over the slip of paper.

  After Turner scanned the paper, he glanced up at Joe with a questioning look in his eyes. “Do you have any idea what this means?” he asked.

  Before Joe could answer, Frank spoke up. “Actually, we don’t.”

  From the dean’s expression, Joe could tell Turner had an idea. “Why, do you?” Joe asked.

  “These letters popped out at me right away,” Turner explained. “Of course they mean more to me than to you, since I know these people.”

  “What do you mean?” Joe asked, frustrated at Turner for taking so long to get to the point. “What people?”

  Turner pointed to the paper. “CN, JL, and GU are all initials of people at the circus.”

  “They are?” Joe grabbed the paper from Turner and looked at it again.

  “Carl Nash, Justine Leone—” Turner said.

  “And Georgianne Unger,” Frank finished. “Boy, are we dense.”

  “Not really. We only just met these people,” Joe reminded his brother. “But I have to admit, I do feel pretty stupid for not noticing the connection before.” He stared at the numbers that went along with the letters. “The question is, what do these numbers mean?”

  “And why are these initials on this list?” Frank added, looking over his brother’s shoulder.

  “Well, you boys are the detectives,” Turner said, shrugging.

  Joe pocketed the slip of paper and headed for the door. “We’ll take it from here,” he told Turner. “If you think of anything else that might be helpful—”

  “I’ll let you know,” Turner said. He crossed the room and held the door open for them. “Good luck to you two, and thanks again for what you’re doing. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

  “No problem,” Frank said.

  “We’ll keep you posted,” Joe added, closing the door behind them. He followed Frank into the hallway.

  “So now we know that Ralph Rosen once attended Circus U.,” Frank said.

  “And he was kicked out,” Joe added. “Think he has a grudge against Turner? Enough of a grudge to have caused the problems at Circus U. and the circus here?”

  “It’s a possibility,” Frank admitted. “But how does that tie in to the coded message he passed to Chet?” He bit his lip in frustration. “We need to find out more about Ralph Rosen.”

  “Let’s ask Costello. Maybe he can help us out.” Joe waited while a student walked down the hall past them before going on. “So we’re back to where we started. We know who Rosen is, but we don’t know how to find him. We think the code may refer to people here at the circus, but we don’t know why.” Joe tried to sort out all the details in his mind. “Hey,” he said. “I just thought of something.”

  “What?” Frank said. “I recognize that look. You’re about to make a flying leap at deduction.”

  “That’s what makes me such a good detective,” Joe said, pointing his finger at Frank’s chest. “Let’s say the code is somehow related to the sabotage.”

  “We don’t know that for sure,” Frank warned.

  “No, we don’t,” Joe admitted. “But let’s just say it is.”

  “Okay,” Frank said slowly. “What then?”

  Joe searched for a connection he just knew had to be there. “Say Rosen is connected to the sabotage,” he said. “He gets kicked out of Circus U. and decides to get even with Turner, out of revenge,” Joe explained in a rush. “Maybe the code was some kind of note he was passing to an accomplice, someone on the inside who was helping him for their own reasons. They could be working together.”

  Joe waited for his brother to respond. “Well?” Joe asked finally, when Frank had kept quiet for too long.

  “I see your point,” Frank said slowly. “But why would Rosen need to pass information to his accomplice? Why not just make phone calls? Remember, the sabotage started before Circus U. and the Montero Circus ever got to Bayport. Also, why would his accomplice take instructions from Rosen?”

  “I don’t know,” Joe said in exasperation. “That’s what we have to find out. You got a better idea?” Joe raised his eyebrows and waited for his brother’s response.

  “Hey, don’t be so defensive,” Frank said.

  “I’m not defensive,” Joe said. “It’s just that when you don’t have any ideas, you want to
shoot down mine.”

  “I’m not shooting them down,” Frank explained. “I’m just trying to see if they make sense. Let’s go meet Chet and get some lunch. We can grab a burger and go over what we know.”

  “Sure,” Joe said, still feeling that Frank wasn’t taking his idea seriously. He decided to find some proof to back up his deduction.

  “You know,” Joe said as he and Frank started walking down the hall toward the elevators, “Rosen could be working with Carl Nash. Remember last night when Carl showed up? He was wearing the same costume as Chet. What if Rosen meant to pass the message to Nash?”

  Frank turned to his brother. “Now you’re onto something. Why didn’t we think of that before?”

  “What if Nash is Rosen’s accomplice?” Joe pressed.

  “Why would his initials be on the list then?” Frank asked. “It doesn’t make sense.”

  “It could be a smoke screen,” Joe said, knowing he was searching for reasons again. “To divert suspicion from Nash.”

  “That would only work if Rosen and Nash knew they’d be caught,” Frank pointed out, “Otherwise, there’s no reason to throw us off the track.”

  Joe had to admit that Frank had a point. “All this is starting to give me a headache,” he said finally. “Maybe the theories will come together after we eat.”

  “A burger certainly wouldn’t hurt,” Frank said. “And then we can talk to Bo Costello.”

  “Right,” Joe said. They were at the end of the hallway now. Frank pressed the elevator button. “I hope Chet’s class is over and he’s waiting for us. Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’m starving.”

  When they got to the arena, they saw Bo Costello teaching a trapeze class. Joe quickly spotted Chet standing by the seats with the other Bayport High students. Their friend had his neck craned and was watching two trapeze students perform acrobatics. Joe and Frank stood beside Chet.

  “It’s incredible!” Chet exclaimed, his mouth open. “I’d be scared to death, but they’re just flying back and forth as though it were second nature or something. Good thing there’s a safety net.”

  Joe had to agree with his friend. The students were really skilled. Joe recognized the man who had jumped from the trapeze swing to stand on a platform thirty feet above their heads. “Isn’t that Nash up there?” he asked. Chet nodded. Nash’s partner swung back and forth on the trapeze as Nash leaned forward on the platform, timing his move.

  “Yep,” Chet said. “And that’s Justine Leone on the trapeze. They’re both really good.”

  “I can tell,” Frank said, watching intently.

  “You can do the move now, Carl,” Joe heard a voice yell up to Nash. He turned to his right to see Bo Costello, his hands around his mouth, hollering up to Nash. “Watch your timing,” Costello said. “And don’t forget to keep your eyes on Justine.”

  Joe craned his neck to watch Nash. The student seemed to take Costello’s advice to heart. As soon as Justine made her next pass, with her legs hooked around the bar and her arms outstretched, Nash jumped from the platform and went sailing toward her. Joe sucked in his breath as Justine and Carl reached each other. Carl let go of the bar and grabbed Justine’s arms.

  “All right!” Chet cried out, watching Justine and Carl swing through the air.

  “Nice move, Carl,” Costello yelled. The students around him clapped politely.

  On the next pass, Nash let go of Justine’s arms as she grabbed hold of another swing. He then landed back on the platform. Justine swung back to a platform across from Nash, jumping from the trapeze and landing squarely on the platform. She threw the swing toward Nash, who caught it and held it tightly as he stood on the platform.

  “Ready when you are, Carl,” Costello told his student. “Upside-down swing and reverse twist.”

  “Huh?” Joe said aloud.

  “Circus lingo,” Frank said with a wink. “They’re famous for it, remember?”

  “Right,” Joe said, turning back to watch Nash.

  The trapeze student grabbed the swing, laced his legs onto it, and let go. As he went sailing from his platform to the one Justine was on, Nash picked up speed. He was flying fast between the two platforms, his arms swinging free. Then, in a flash, Joe saw him unhook his legs from the trapeze.

  A few seconds later, Nash had done a midair somersault and was reaching out with his hands for the trapeze swing. The move was solid and sure, and after the somersault, Nash’s hands reached familiarly for the swing. He grabbed hold of it and kept swinging, not missing a beat.

  “Bravo!” Costello called out.

  “Wow,” Chet said breathlessly.

  Joe couldn’t take his eyes off Nash. “The guy’s incredible,” he said, mesmerized by the sight of Nash swinging back and forth with ease.

  All of a sudden, Joe saw the trapeze student lose his grip. The trapeze started to swing crazily. Nash wrestled with it, fighting to hold on. One end of the swing came unhooked from the chain that supported it. Nash dangled in midair, barely holding on to the wooden rod that until a minute ago had been attached to chains at both ends.

  Even from where Joe stood below, he could see the look of horror and fear on Nash’s face. Several students around the net gasped in fear.

  “Nash!” Joe heard Costello cry out. “Hold on!”

  But Joe could tell it was too late. Before his eyes, Carl Nash lost his grip and began to plummet through the air.

  “Oh, no!” Costello shouted. “He’s going to miss the safety net!”

  8 The Airborne Acrobat

  * * *

  Joe saw that Costello was right. Nash was falling so that he was a few inches outside the net. Several students held their hands over their eyes, afraid to look.

  Joe stood by, helpless. Then, before his eyes, he saw Nash twist his body around. A second later, he had fallen backward into the net. Nash’s acrobat’s costume flashed red as he bounced up and down, up and down in the net.

  “I can’t believe he did that,” Joe found himself saying in a hoarse whisper.

  “Incredible,” Frank said. “That was some trick.”

  “Truly awesome,” Chet said, shaking his head slowly. “I was convinced Carl was a goner.”

  “I think he’s okay,” Joe said, pointing toward the net. “See? Bo Costello’s with him.”

  Frank saw Costello help Nash over the net and give him a hand to the ground. Justine had dashed down the ladder from the platform and was standing by them. Costello put his arm around Nash and led him and Justine through the group of students to a nearby seat.

  “I’m going to find out what happened to that trapeze,” Frank told Chet and his brother. He headed off to the seats where Bo and Nash were sitting.

  “We’re coming with you,” Joe called out.

  As Frank got nearer to Nash and Costello, he heard Carl say to his teacher, “I’m telling you the truth. It just fell apart. Right in my hands. Just like that.”

  Costello’s expression was one of shock, and Justine hid her face in her hands. One look at the trio told Frank that this wasn’t the time to talk to them—they were much too upset. Instead, he pulled Joe and Chet aside and told them what he had overheard. “Isn’t CN the first set of initials on the list?” Frank asked.

  “You don’t think this was an accident,” Joe concluded.

  “Not after what Nash just said,” Frank replied. “Come on, let’s take a look at that trapeze.”

  He and Joe took off toward the net. Chet caught up with them at a run. “What do you mean about CN being the first initials on the list?” he asked.

  Joe explained to Chet his hunch about the coded message being Rosen’s list of accomplices at Circus U. “JL and GU might refer to Justine and Georgianne,” Joe finished.

  “But Justine was swinging on that trapeze, too,” Chet answered. “She could have been the one to fall. Wouldn’t Rosen’s accomplices pick someone to fall who’s not listed on that paper?”

  “Chet’s right,” Frank said. “Besides, your t
heory still has some other holes in it.”

  “Such as?” Joe asked.

  “It doesn’t explain what the numbers mean after the initials,” Frank said. “And it doesn’t explain why Rosen is passing information to his accomplices.”

  Joe let out a long sigh. “So there are holes. When you two figure out something better, let me know. Until then, I’m following my hunch. Which means that this incident was an accident. Let’s see if I’m right.”

  Joe started climbing the ladder that led to the platform where Nash had been standing. When he reached the platform, he stepped off the ladder onto it. The broken trapeze was still hanging from high above the platform. He reached out to grab at the trapeze’s dangling bar and heard Chet’s voice from below, warning him to be careful.

  “We don’t want another accident!” he shouted up to Joe.

  “Thanks, Chet,” Joe muttered to himself. Not daring to look down, he grabbed for the trapeze. He managed to keep his balance as he pulled the trapeze in close. He examined the broken end of the wooden bar. The metal hook that the rope was tied to was broken. Someone had obviously bent the metal several times, weakening it until it could break easily.

  “So much for my theory,” Joe said as he untied the other end of the” wooden rod from the rope. He stuck it in his back pocket and made his way down the ladder.

  “What did you find?” Frank asked when his brother was on the floor again. When Joe showed him the rod, Frank nodded in understanding. “It looks like Circus U.’s been struck again,” he agreed.

  “And it looks like the people on the list are victims, not accomplices,” Joe added. “Unless Nash is Rosen’s accomplice, and his plan to make Justine fall backfired.”

  “But then why are Nash’s initials on the list?” Frank asked.

  “And Georgianne, too,” Joe said. He looked over at where Justine and Nash had been sitting with Costello, but the three of them were gone. Apparently Costello had dismissed the class, because the other students were walking toward the backstage area.